Hello from Cheesehead Land!

I'm been reading for several weeks on the forums but actually navigating the software is a bit of a challenge! I've been drinking tea on and off, grocery store tea bags, the occasional loose leaf from the co-op & Constant Comment's always been in the cupboard. Then a girlfriend took me to a local tea shop called MaCha and the doors started to open!

Oh, and so has my wallet: I seem to have contracted a severe case of TAD seeing all your wonderful photos. Yep it's all your fault!!

Happy to be here as I've got lots to learn (can you brew pu er in a porcelain pot?)--Kathy Marie

Your question is a good one. I use a porcelain gaiwan for pu-erh since I have not gotten around to purchasing a Yixing pot for pu-erh. I am sure a dedicated Yixing or possibly another type of clay pot would yield better results however ...

That kyusu is the direct result of lurking on this board. Alas, you can't see it but the spout is faintly chipped--something I've now learned to watch for and ask about with online ads.

I asked about the pu-erh because I got a free sample. I almost bid on a clay teapot but the "shoe polish special" pictures made me pause. It all seems so complicated, so much risk and trickery, there's a part of me that says, "Don't even open that packet!"

However, I've started to look at gaiwans per your advice, and I'm thinking of trying to brew "gaiwan style" with a regular coffee cup and saucer. A nice teacup may have totally bit the dust last night, water droplets started oozing right out the side!

So I think I need something inexpensive to sacrifice to newbie fingers, darnit.

Welcome to TeaChat Kathy. I've been to Madison a few times, and likely will be there some more in the coming years, my older brother, and now my younger sister both went to university of Wisconsin Madison! Great school there, and great town!

Chip wrote:I use a porcelain gaiwan for pu-erh since I have not gotten around to purchasing a Yixing pot for pu-erh. I am sure a dedicated Yixing or possibly another type of clay pot would yield better results however...

FWIW (and I know Chip is aware of this), tea competitions utilize porcelain in order to get an accurate sense of the entries without help or hindrance from the brewing vessel. You're fine with porcelain and can take as much time as you like in order to find just the right clay pot. In fact, you'll find it fun and instructive to compare teas brewed first in porcelain and then in clay.